Here Be Dragons
by Steefwaterbutter
Summary: Third of the Spirit Crossovers. Portals don't ask questions. After the death of Mo'du, Spirit finds himself in yet another world, a world inhabited by dragons. Injured and alone, Spirit forms an unlikely friendship with a viking boy named Hiccup. Just when things are calming down, a hidden darkness arises that will change everything.
1. Chapter 1: Fire and Rain

"Some say the world will end in fire,  
Some in ice.  
From what I've tasted from desire,  
I hold with those who favor fire.  
But if it had to perish twice.  
I think I know enough of hate  
To say for distruction ice  
Is also great  
And would suffice."

~Robert Frost, _Fire and Ice~_

* * *

_Fire rained down from the sky that night_.

The buckskin stallion cracked his eyes open, then quickly shut them against the piercing rays of sunlight.

_Where am I?_ he thought. _What happened? How did I get here?_

Spirit tried opening his eyes again, and looked around. He was lying in some sort of large cove or box canyon. A few trees were scattered about and in the middle was a large pond. Spirit tried to get up but gasped in pain. Spirit twisted his head to look at himself and saw he was covered in cuts, bruises and burns. They seemed mostly superficial, so Spirit couldn't understand why he was in so much pain. Then he saw his leg. It was crisscrossed with multiple cuts and welts and looked swollen. Spirit tried to move it, and although pain shot through him, he found with much relief that he could. At least it wasn't broken.

_But what happened?_ he thought again. Then he remembered. Burning. Fire. Rain! _His_ Rain! Panic seized him. What had happened to her?!

* * *

_What a convenient time to be thrown into this world,_ Spirit thought sarcastically, dodging weapons, people, and flames. One minute he had been with Merida, celebrating the defeat of Mor'du, the next, he found himself in a burning village. People wearing metal hats were trying to protect their homes from some sort of flying beasts who could breath fire. Out of the corner of his eye, Spirit saw a boy, much smaller and skinnier than the other humans, sneak out of a house, some kind of weapon tucked under his arm.

_I have to get out of here before I get killed!_ Spirit thought desperately, watching a human launch himself, at one of the beasts, yelling and waving a stick with something sharp attacked to either side. Then he blinked in surprise. It couldn't be...

At first Spirit thought the smoke had clogged his eyes, but when he looked again, the sorrel paint mare did not melt away.

_Rain?_ He gasped. _Rain, is that you?_

Rain looked around, startled, for a second, then her face lit up. -Spirit!- she neighed.

Spirit fought his way through the crowds of people, oblivious to anything but the mare. _I'm__ coming Rain!_ Then his heart clenched in fear.

Rain's face twisted in pain as a spear lodged itself in her shoulder. _Spirit!_ she screamed. _Help me!_

Spirit jumped forward, but screamed from the pain that exploded in his back leg. He turned and saw the boy sprawled on the ground, as if he had tripped over something. He was staring at Spirit in surprise. The young mustang felt rage fill him.

_I will never forgive you for this._

* * *

Spirit was snapped out of his memories by the cracking of a twig. He lifted his head, but moaned a little with the pain. Who had made the noise? Was it one of the fire-breathing beasts? Rain? or... the boy. He was standing near the cove wall, looking curiously at the mustang. Now that Spirit looked closer, he saw the boy looked young, probably about fourteen or fifteen. He had floppy brown hair and wore a green tunic with a fur vest. But why had he come here? Was it simply to finish him off? Or was there some other reason? Spirit pinned his ears back and squealed angrily. The boy jumped, but held out his hand and stepped forward.

_Go away!_

The teenager sighed and dropped his hand. "It's okay boy," he muttered. "I'm sorry I hit you. I thought you were a dragon."

Though Spirit couldn't understand all of what the teenager said, he had learned enough of human speech to understand.

_Sorry? Dragons? Were those the fire-breathing beasts?_

_Don't listen to him,_ he told himself. _He hurt you and he hurt Rain._

"They're the ones that attack our village, you know," the boy continued. "My name's Hiccup, by the way."

_Hiccup, eh? It kinda suites you._

Hiccup took a step forward. "You've messed up your leg pretty bad," he grimaced.

_You mean you messed it up!_ Spirit thought angrily.

"Maybe I can do something for it. That is, if you let me come closer." He edged forward. By now he was only a few feet away.

Spirit pinned his ears again. Hiccup stopped. "I haven't seen a horse in a long time," he said, and, pulling out a journal and piece of charcoal, began drawing. When he was done he pulled up grass and put a small pile in front of Spirit.

"I'll be back," he said. "Just... um, lay low, okay?"

_Very funny_.

* * *

Hiccup ran all the way back. 'I have to help him. It's my fault he got injured,' he thought. He paused to say "Hi" to Gobber at the forge, then headed to his house. Luckily, his dad wasn't home. Hiccup pulled out a sack and began looking through cupboards. He had seen the horse run into the woods after he accidentally shot him with one of his "inventions" during the dragon raid. Hiccup had felt sorry and curious and had decided to check it out. Now that he saw how badly it was injured, he couldn't just walk away. He had to help it! But first he had to get it to trust him.

"Lesse, what do horses like to eat?" He muttered. Yak milk? Nah. Bread? Maybe. Apples? Yep.

Hiccup shoved some bread and apples in the sack.

"What are you doing?"

Hiccup swung around to see his father, and chief of the tribe, Stoic the Vast. He was a huge man, about four times the size of Hiccup with a large red beard. Ever since Hiccup's mom had died, their relationship had become very strained. Hiccup knew Stoic was disappointed in him: disappointed that he was skinny and weak, disappointed that he couldn't kill dragons.

"Hiccup?"

"Um, nothing," Hiccup stuttered, and slipped out the door, but not fast enough to escape his father's sigh.


	2. Chapter 2: Of Apples and Herbs

"An ocean would never laugh,  
if clouds weren't there  
to kiss her tears."

~Nikki Giovanni, _The World is not a Pleasant Place to Be~_

* * *

It wasn't until Hiccup had left that the reality of what had happened last night sank in. _Rain_. She was injured, maybe even _dead_, and there was nothing, _nothing!_ he could do. He could only lie here helplessly, waiting for the teenager to come back. If he ever did. Huh, he might have run off to get more people so they could try and "break" him. Spirit shuddered a bit, remembering the horrible time when he had been captured and taken to be broken in. He nosed at the pile of grass, wondering if he should leave it just to spite Hiccup. He took a small mouthful and was surprised at how _good_ it tasted. It was lush and juicy, with a hint of saltiness that made the young mustang think of the sea.

_I need to get up, at least onto my stomach,_ Spirit thought. He never really knew how he managed it afterwards, but after much groaning and sweating, he rolled from his side onto his stomach. The ground rocked back and forth for a second, bit soon stilled.

Spirit shook his head to clear the cobwebs and saw that Hiccup had returned. He was alone and carrying a sack. Spirit felt his curiosity aroused, despite his efforts to quench it. He hadn't got anyone, that seemed strange for a human to do. And what was in the sack? Spirit felt his stomach rumble, and he hoped it held food. It did.

* * *

"Hey again, boy," Hiccup said, glad that the horse seemed in a better mood. It was lying on its stomach now, and looked more alert. The horse pricked its ears and nickered softly when it saw the sack.

"Hungry, eh bud?" Hiccup laughed, and pulled out some apples, which he placed in front of the stallion. The horse immediately began to eat them, and Hiccup took the chance to sneak around the mustang to check out his leg. Without even pausing with his meal, the stallion promptly slapped Hiccup with his tail.

"I take your point," Hiccup murmured, taking a few steps back. He walked back towards the stallion's head, and although the horse flattened his ears a touch, the stallion didn't snap at him.

When he had finished the apples, he looked at Hiccup, asking if there was more. Hiccup held out the bread. The mustang looked at him for a minute, then quickly snatched it out of his hand, gulping it down. Hiccup breathed a sigh of relief that the horse hadn't taken his arm off.

"I have to figure out something to call you," he said, sitting down in front of the mustang. The stallion looked at him seriously for a moment, then tossed its head and whinnied.

"Umm... how about... Spirit?"

Spirit seemed to approve. He nickered happily, and tossed his head. Hiccup took advantage of his good mood and reached out to touch him. Immediately Spirit's ears flattened, and even bared his teeth a little. Hiccup quickly dropped his hand.

"Sorry. I mean, I'm really sorry you've had to go through all of this."

Spirit relaxed and sighed a little, seeming to say, _You have no idea_.

Hiccup smiled a little. "Well then, I'm going to make you better. I'll have to have a look at your leg first, though."

Spirit looked steadily at him for a second, then gave the tiniest of nods. Hiccup went around the stallion again, but this time kept his distance. The area around the fetlock was swollen, but not too much, probably a mild sprain. The rest of the leg was covered in cuts which didn't look good. The mustang's body was scraped and burned, but those seemed minor, some already healing. The main thing was to make sure the cuts on the leg didn't get infected.

Hiccup knew the one person who knew how to deal with things like this. Goathi, the village healer. She was old, but kind and wise, surely she would help him. He'd better wait until tomorrow, though, it was already getting late and Gobber most likely needed him at the forge. He said one last good-bye to Spirit, who looked sad he had to go.

On the way back he ran into one of the other teenagers, Ruffnut. Hiccup had never really known what to think of her. He definitely didn't have a crush on her or anything, he just didn't know what to think. Ruffnut was rather lanky, like him, with blond hair she kept in three long braids. She could be violent and moody, and constantly got into fights with her brother and twin, Tuffnut. Hiccup could only imagine what she was doing in the woods.

"Hi Ruff," he began uneasily. "What are you doing out here?"

"Why do you want to know?" she snapped, narrowing her eyes. "Can't a girl be in the woods by herself?" She softened her voice a hair and asked, almost curious, "What are _you_ doing here?"

"Nothing," Hiccup faltered.

The girl rolled her eyes, as if to say, "Typical".

"Well... uh, see you around?" Hiccup asked.

"Whatever."

* * *

The next day, Hiccup got up and immediately went to Goathi's house. He knocked, and then waited respectfully for the old woman to answer. She opened the door and smiled when she saw him, quickly inviting him in. Her staff scratched in the dirt and she wrote,_ "What is it?"_ Hiccup had never heard Goathi speak. She communicated through a special language that not many people knew. Gobber was the only person Hiccup knew that could translate it, excluding himself and Goathi, of course.

"Well... it's about a horse," Hiccup confided, scratching behind his neck.

_"A horse?"_

"Yeah, I found an injured horse in the woods, near Raven's Point. I think he sprained his leg, and its cut up pretty bad. Do you have any advice for me on what to do?"

Goathi's staff scratched again and Hiccup watched as she told him what herbs would bring down the swelling, help the cuts to heal, and prevent infection. Then she went I've to a cupboard and gave him some bandages as well as a small amount of the herbs he needed, telling him were he could get more. Hiccup felt a little overwhelmed by her kindness.

"Thank you so much Goathi. How can I ever repay you?" he exclaimed gratefully.

Goathi smiled and rapped him lightly on the head with her staff.

_"Stay out of trouble."_

* * *

**Chapter 2. Wow, that was fun. And over a thousand words too! Review, pretty please? D****id everyone stay in character? Anyone have any suggestions or prediction as to what will happen next? **


	3. Chapter 3: Hurt, but Healing

"They bow shyly as wet swans. They love each other.  
There is no loneliness like theirs."

~James Wright, _A Blessing~_

* * *

Rain whimpered softly, feeling as if her shoulder was in fire. She had been hit in the same spot she was shot two years ago. Where was Spirit? She remember him screaming in pain, but then, everything had gone... blurry. She wanted to open her eyes, but her eyelids felt as if they were weighted.

"Shhh, don't move."

Rain managed to open her eyes, but everything was fuzzy. The only thing she could make out was a girl with blond hair. What was she doing here? She was too tired to figure it out. Rain groaned, closed her eyes, and fell asleep.

* * *

Ruffnut sighed and threw herself on her bed. It was the day after the dragon attack and she had found an injured mare in the woods. She had no idea what to do with it. Should she try to heal it? Leave it alone and hope it got better?

"Where have _you_ been all day?" asked her twin, Tuffnut, throwing his helmet at her. Ruff caught it and simply shrugged. At other times, she might have thrown it back at him, but she just wasn't in the mood.

"Hey, what's wrong sis?" Tuffnut coaxed, almost sounding concerned.

"Nothing. Shut up or I'll clobber you," she retorted.

His face immediately returned to its regular sneer."Ha. You can't tell me what to do, I'm the oldest.."

Ruffnut promptly grabbed a shield and whacked him over the head.

"Ow," came a voice from the floor.

Ruff smirked and climbed into her bed once more. " 'Night Tuff," she mumbled, blowing out the candle. She heard a garbled noise coming from across the room, which she took to be her brother saying good night back. Ruffnut lay back, gazing out the window and wondering what to do about the horse. One thing was for certain: if she did decide to help it, no one could find out, not even Tuff. It would be awkward to explain, and their was no telling what the other teens might do. She was sure Fishlegs and Hiccup wouldn't mind, but Snotlout, Astrid, and Tuffnut...

Though she hated to admit it to herself, Ruffnut coundn't stand seeing the horse in pain. And, now that she thought about it, she hated seeing people in pain, too. It wasn't like when she shoved her brother around, it was like when they all would gang up on Hiccup. She didn't really like it, but what could _she_ do about it?

Ruffnut waited until she was sure her brother was asleep, then grabbed the candle and snuck out of the room. She went down to the old pile of books her father had, searching over the dusty volumes. At last she found what she was looking for, and with a grim of satisfaction, she cracked open the book and began to read.

* * *

Hiccup was walking back to see Spirit, his arms full of bandages and herbs: comfery, chamomile, and goldenseal. He had been so eager to get back he didn't bother stopping by his house to grab a bag to carry them in. Just then, he heard the all-too-families voices of Snotlout and Tuffnut.

"Oh _no," _he groaned, glancing desperately around for somewhere to hide. Too late, they had already seen him.

"Well, well, _well_," taunted a black-haired, muscular boy. "If it isn't the talking fishbone."

"Go run into a tree, Snotlout."

"Ooh, I'm soooo scared," mocked Snotlout. The other teen, a blond with long, greasy, hair, snickered.

"What's _that_ for?" he asked, looking at the stuff Hiccup was carrying.

"Nothing you would care about, _Tuffnut_," Hiccup retorted.

"Probably some 'nerd' stuff," Snotlout said.

"Well, in that case, take your, ugh, 'nerd stuff' somewhere else," Tuffnut sneered, walking up to Hiccup and shoving the boy.

Hiccup threw out his arms to keep his balance, and everything went flying. His back smacked into the ground with a small "thud".

"Tuff, what was that for?" Snotlout asked with mock surprise. "Here, let me help you up." He leaned down as if to offer Hiccup his hand, but punched him in the nose instead.

"Leave me alone," Hiccup snarled, pain shooting through his face and blood pouring out his nose.

"As you wish. Haha, bye _loser_."

Hiccup sat up slowly. He pinched his nose, mopping up the blood with the end of his tunic. "Why does it seem like everyone hates me?" he grumbled to himself.

* * *

Spirit looked up and nickered softly when he saw Hiccup. He had felt lonely and bored ever since Hiccup left. Once he had attempted to get up, but failed utterly.

_Look at me, _he had thought. _Once a swift and powerful mustang, now a hopeless, crippled nag._

As Hiccup got closer, Spirit was surprised to see blood dripping from the teen's nose. He gestured to it with his muzzle and raised an eyebrow, asking how it had happened.

Hiccup shrugged, but the action seemed anything but casual. "Got into a scuffle with my cousin and another boy," he admitted, looking down. "They pick on me because I'm not like other Vikings; I'm skinny and weak, not muscular enough to kill dragons or even fight with a sword or axe."

Hiccup stopped in front of Spirit to drop his stuff on the ground. There were flowers that looked like somewhat like daisies, short and stubby roots, green leaves, and long strips of white stuff.

"Let's see here, first there's comfrey." Hiccup pointed to the leaves. "That'll bring the swelling down. Then there's chamomile..." (the flowers) "...and goldenseal," (the roots) "which will heal your cuts and burns. I got them from Goathi, she's our healer and one of the few people who are actually nice to me."

Spirit felt his interest flare and his ears pricked. He wanted to know more about this place Hiccup lived, the people there, the animals... the _dragons_, even. The thought made him remember Rain, how he might never see her again. No, he _would. _Even if it took him the rest of his life, he would find her.

Hiccup went over to Spirit's leg. "I can keep talking, if you want," he said quietly. "And this might hurt, just warning you."

Spirit blew out of his nostrils. _As if it would be any more pain than what I'm in now._

Hiccup dipped a cloth in water and began washing the dirt out of Spirit's wounds with a cloth. It stung, but not too much.

"There are six teens in the my tribe, counting me," Hiccup began. "First, Snotlout. My cousin and sometimes the scourge of my life. I think he gets his energy from bullying and making fun of me. Then Ruffnut and Tuffnut, the twins. They love to play pranks and beat each other up. Fishlegs. He's the nicest out of the group, but too scared of what others will think to really show it. Knows a lot about dragons. Astrid..." Hiccup's face took on a dreamy look. Spirit snorted again.

_Snap out of it, will ya?_

Hiccup shook his head sadly, then continued, "Astrid is one of the best, and most beautiful, dragon-fighters there is. I think she hates me."

Spirit raised an eyebrow. _Hates you?_

"Well, she doesn't _hate_ me, I guess, but she sure doesn't share the same feelings I do," Hiccup half laughed, half groaned. He began putting the powdered goldenseal on Spirit's cuts and chamomile on his burns. "Then there's Stoik, chief of the tribe, and... my dad. He..."

Hiccup trailed off and Spirit's thoughts turned to his own father, a pure black stallion named Strider. Around the time Spirit turned three, he had disappeared, leaving Spirit free to take over the Cimarron herd. Strider was never heard of again, and no one knew what had happened to him, but now that Spirit thought about it, he wouldn't have been surprised to hear he had been captured by humans.

"Ever since my mom, Vallahamara was killed in a dragon attack, we, um... I don't see him very often," he finished lamely.

Spirit found himself wishing _he_ could talk, to tell Hiccup about his family, about Rain, Esperanza, and the rest of his herd.

"Um... Gobber. He's a blacksmith. I've been apprenticed to him since I was little-"

Spirit snorted with laughter.

"Okay, okay! Little-er. He's almost like my uncle; he's taught me a lot, and although he jokes about me being skinny, he's just a lot easier to be around then my dad."

_That's more like__ it, _Spirit thought smugly.

"Aw, cut it out, Spirit!" Hiccup laughed, rolling his eyes. At last he moved on to Spirit's leg. He put the powdered goldenseal on the cuts, applied some comfery onto it, then wrapped the bandage around it. Spirit swore he could _feel_ it getting better.

_Thank you, _Spirit said with his eyes. Then he slowly, and carefully, heaved himself to his feet, being careful to keep his weight off his back leg. The mustang turned to Hiccup, and saw the boy holding out his hand. Spirit hesitated, then slowly pushed his muzzle into Hiccup's palm. Just then an ear-splitting shriek filled the air.

* * *

**A/N: I really like writing this because I can find out more about the character's personalities, their history, and basically their lives. Ruffnut was fun to write. Yes, Rain is alive! You didn't think I'd just kill her off, would you? I'll mostly be focusing on Hiccup and Spirit though. Is this a Ruffcup story? Maybe... I don't know yet. Well, enough rambling. Review and you'll get a shout-out!**


	4. Chapter 4: Alternate Universe

"Curiouser and curiouser!"

~Lewis Carroll, _Alice in Wonderland.~_

* * *

Hiccup felt something soft brushing against his face and groaned. "Uhhhh, my head." He opened his eyes and saw Spirit sniffing him. "What happened, bud?"

_I have no idea..._

Hiccup bolted up, grabbing Spirit's mane to steady himself. Spirit had spoken, well not really out loud, but in Hiccup's head. Had they just formed some sort of... mental telepathy?

_You. J__ust. Talked to me... in my head!_

_I did?_ the mustang looked surprised. _I can talk to you?_

_Yeah... something must have happened when I touched you... _

_But you touched me before, when you were putting on the medicine and stuff..._

_No, I never actually never did, not directly. Oh gosh, this is weird..._

Spirit seemed to agree, he shook his head and blew out of his nostrils. _I've been meaning to say... I'm sorry I was mean to you. I... well, you may find this hard to believe, but I'm not from here. I came through a portal._

It was too much for one day. "I think I'm gunna be sick..." Hiccup keeled over and retched.

* * *

_Stupid Spirit. _The mustang inwardly slapped himself. As if the poor guy hadn't been through enough already today. He took a long breath and nuzzled Hiccup, trying to calm him down.

_You're going to be alright. Okay, let me start from the beginning. _ Spirit leaned against one of the rock walls. _I was born on the plains of the untamed wilderness...__  
_

Spirit went on to tell him how he had grown up to become the leader of the Cimarron herd, how he had been captured by humans, how he had made friends with Little Creek and fell in love with Rain...

"Wow," Hiccup said. "I've kinda always wished I could go on an adventure. But... no one trusts me to do anything, so I guess I never will."

_Hey, wasn't meeting me kind of an adventure?_

"Well, sorta." _I have to say, I'm really sorry I hit you,_ "...but... it _is_ nice to have someone to talk to, even if he's 'just a horse'," said Hiccup, lapsing in and out of speech.

_Hey! _Spirit feigned an injured expression.

Hiccup grinned a little, then grew solemn again._ But, something's been bothering me. When I hit you, I tripped over something, but there was nothing to trip over._

_Maybe someone tripped you_?

Hiccup shook his head. "I don't think anyone would do that during a dragon raid, as I'm, um, a little... _accident-prone_. They'd be too afraid of getting killed."

_Then you must have just stumbled over your own feet, _Spirit concluded, flicking his ear at a fly.

Hiccup looked at the sun. "Sorry, Spirit, have to go. I'll try to get out here tomorrow, okay? I'll bring more herbs too, just in case you need some more."

_Sounds good._ As he watched the boy go, Spirit realized how lucky he was to have Hiccup.

* * *

"Aright Hiccup," Gobber sighed. "Wot's happened to you this time?"

Hiccup went over to a pile of weapons and, picking up one of the lighter swords, began to whet it on a grindstone. "What are you talking about?" he asked, confused.

"Yer nose, Hiccup! Why there's blood all over yer face!" Gobber said, clearly concerned.

Hiccup gulped. He had forgotten all about it. "Um, well I was running through the woods to practice my, um, running skills, but... I didn't look where I was going and tripped over a tree root.

"Maybe next time: look where yer goin'!" Gobber sounded a little exasperated. "Be righ' back."

"I'll keep that in mind, Gobber," Hiccup muttered.

No sooner had Gobber left than then last person Hiccup wanted to see came into the forge. Astrid. A beautiful and talented girl, whom Hiccup had a hopeless crush on. She had blond hair she kept in a short braid, and bangs were always getting into her eyes. Unlike most Vikings, she didn't wear a helmet, only a leather headband, and almost always carried a large battleaxe with her.

"I need my axe sharpened," she said bluntly.

"Astrid! Uh, hi, Astrid. Hello there, welcome," Hiccup stammered. "What can I-"

Astrid promptly chucked it at him, where it embedded in a block of wood.

"...do for you...?"

Astrid walked over and tugged it out. As she stepped over to hand it to him, she frowned at his nose. "What happened?"

Hiccup staggered a little, feeling as if the axe weighed as much as he did. "Oh the usual, Snotlout meant to give me a friendly handshake, but missed."

"That guy can be such a jerk sometimes," Astrid muttered angrily.

_Just when I thought this day couldn't get any weirder_, Hiccup thought, stunned_. First, I make a telepathic communication with a horse from another world, and now Astrid's actually agreeing with me._

"Earth to Hiccup?" Hiccup jerked back into reality. "Aren't you going to get started?"

Hiccup almost dropped the ax. "Oh... yeah! One razor-sharp battleaxe, coming right up."

"Careful. That's my mother's."

Hiccup heaved to ax over to the grindstone. "So..." he said, hoping for some conversation, "I saw you guys were on fire patrol during the dragon raid the other night."

"Yeah. I didn't get burned, though. It's only fun if you get a scar out of it."

Hiccup started to whet the ax while Astrid looked at some of the swords. "Well, I would have been there too, but I was too busy making friends with a horse from another world." _Was that out loud?_

"What did you say?" asked Astrid, turning around and looking at him strangely.

"Nothing, nothing! I meant... um... nevermind." Hiccup groaned inwardly. He sounded like an idiot.

Astrid turned back to the weapons. Then she pushed aside a curtain and looked into Hiccup's "organized chaos" room.

"What... is this?" she asked slowly, looking around at all of Hiccup's drawings.

Hiccup stopped and ran over. "Um, oh, uh, those? Nothing just some stuff... I'm working on," he stuttered, shoving a bunch of the drawings into a drawer. "Nothing much."

Astrid picked up a piece of paper and studied it. "The Mutilator," she read.

"Uh... yeah. Basically, it uses twin-weighted counter-levels to launch crisscrossing blades in four different directions."

"How do you hold it?" Astrid sounded bored.

Hiccup went back to the ax and began to put the finishing touches on. "You don't. You shoot it."

"Oh. Eh, well," Astrid tossed the drawing on the floor, "I'm more of an old-fashioned 'Take it down with an ax, and then lop it's head off', kind of girl. It's kind of the viking way right?"

Usually Hiccup would have agreed, but something about the way she said it made him shiver. "Go vikings," he said flatly, trying to cover it up.

"Gosh, I can't wait until we can actually start killing dragons."

_Like I'll ever be able to do that,_ Hiccup thought moodily. Whenever he tried to, it just ended up with people, and horses, getting hurt.

"Astrid! You coming or what?"

Hiccup saw Fishlegs, Tuffnut, and Snotlout near the forge. _Great..._he thought.

Astrid grabbed her ax from him and headed out the door.

"Nice nose, fishbone!" he heard Snotlout call.

"Shut up," Astrid snapped at him.

* * *

Ruffnut was very pleased with her work. Already the mare was looking much better and back on her feet, though still a little weak from blood loss. Ruffnut held out her hand and the mare hobbled over, nickering warmly. She placed her muzzle on Ruff's palm, and when she did, the air seemed to shimmer. The mare pricked her ears and looked around, as did Ruff.

_What the heck was that?_ Ruff thought.

The mare jumped. Ruffnut raised an eyebrow.

_Did you just talk to me?_

"Uh... why am I hearing voices?" Ruff asked no one in particular. "And why am I talking myself?"

* * *

**A/N: Oh gosh. I love that last line. Sorry for the wait, I was having problems with writer's block. So... I cheated. I got the scene with Hiccup sharpening Astrid's ax from a deleted scene I found on YouTube. Gosh, I can't believe how easy it's getting to pull off these 1,000 word chapters. Oh, and Rain and Ruff didn't pass out when they formed their connection because Rain, just in general, isn't as "wild" as Spirit. If Spirit is fire, she is water.**


	5. Chapter 5: A Ride to Remember

"Shine on me, sunshine  
Rain on me, rain  
Fall softly, dewdrops  
And cool my brow again."

~Maya Angelou, _Woman Work_~

* * *

A week had passed since Hiccup and Spirit had formed telepathic communication. The mustang's leg was completely healed: there were a couple of nasty scars, but they would soon be covered by Spirit's fur. The swelling had disappeared, and Spirit declared it had never felt better. He came over to Hiccup with pleading eyes, silently begging him for the consent to run.

Hiccup laughed. _Oh... alright_.

The stallion exploded into a series of happy bucks and leaps, tossing his mane and whinnying his head off.

The last week had been one of the best in Hiccup's life. He and Spirit had grown to be good friends, his Dad seemed in an inexplicable good mood, even the teens teasing seemed to have lessened. Especially with Ruffnut. Well, it probably had to do with the fact that Hiccup hardly saw her anymore. She wasn't with the other teens as much as she used to, which confused him. What was she doing?

As Hiccup's thoughts wandered off, Spirit did something unexpected. The stallion slowly walked up to Hiccup and knelt down in front of him. It took Hiccup a moment to realize he wanted Hiccup to ride him.

_Uh... are you sure?_ Hiccup asked nervously. _I__'ve never..._

_Consider it a great honor,_ Spirit said solemnly. _In my lifetime, I have only allowed one other to ride me_.

_Okay then. Just promise me you won't _buck_ or anything_, Hiccup warned, swinging his leg over Spirit's back and twisting his fingers into the mustang's thick black mane.

_I promise._ Spirit rose to his feet and walked out of the cove.

* * *

It felt strange to have a human on his back again, but Spirit was overjoyed to be able to walk, to _run_ again. However, he held himself back, not without some difficulty, until he felt Hiccup relax.

It was a gorgeous day, the sun sparkling through the trees' leaves and glinting off the water. Together they splashed through a stream, walked across a field, wove in and out of trees.

Finally he could take it no longer. Spirit moved into a bumpy trot, then a rocking canter. He felt Hiccup tense, but it only made him more excited, and he started to go faster and faster. The scenery smoothed into a blur, and the wind screamed in his ears as he went into a full-fledged gallop. Spirit couldn't remember a time where he had felt so happy, so free. All the trauma he had gone through seemed to melt away, leaving only joy. Pure joy and freedom. No longer was he bound to the earth. He was flying.

* * *

Hiccup clung to Spirit's mane and clamped his knees around the mustang's side. He squeezed his eyes shut, hanging on for dear life.

_Relax._

Hiccup half-opened his eyes and looked at Spirit, who, hardly slackening his speed, half-turned his head to nicker at him.

_Trust me._

Hiccup slowly relaxed his grip. As the mustang galloped on, he began to take in the beauty and wonder. He felt like he was soaring the air, leaving behind all his troubles: the other teens constant teasing, his father's disappointment, the rejection of other vikings. A grin slowly spread across his face and he yelled, "Yeahhhh!"

Finally Spirit slowed to a walk. The late afternoon quickly deepened into sundown, and by the time they reached the cove it was twilight. Hiccup slid off, his legs shaking so back he could hardly stand.

"Ow... what happened to my legs?" he moaned, speaking out loud this time.

* * *

Spirit snickered, even though he felt the same way. _You've never rode a horse before. It's to be expected.  
_

_I guess my muscle's just aren't used to it. _Hiccup took a step forward. _Ow. _He grinned a little, and threw his arms around Spirit's neck, hugging him. _Thanks... so much. I can't remember the last time I had so much fun._

_Me either. _Spirit thought his heart would burst with happiness. He blew into Hiccup's hair, then playfully nipped at it, like he had once seen Rain do with Little Creek.

Hiccup laughed and gently swatted Spirit's muzzle away. _Stop that!_

* * *

Hiccup jerked awake. Outside he heard the shouts and screams of Vikings, as well as the roars of dragons and terrified baa-ing of sheep.

_Dragon__ raid_.

Sure enough, when he opened the door, a Monstrous Nightmare was waiting. It opened its mouth and Hiccup slammed the door shut, closing his eyes against the explosion of heat.

As soon as he heard it flap away, he quickly ran outside, dodging vikings and dragons.

_Most people would leave, _he thought rather sarcastically. _Not us. We have stubbornness issues._

As he sprinted past the other vikings, a few began yelling at him to get back inside. He tried to ignore the twinge of pain, both in his legs, and in his soul.

Just then his dad grabbed him by the back of his fur vest and lifted him easily into the air. "Hiccup!? What are you- what is_ he_ doing out here?! Get back inside!" he yelled and dropped Hiccup.

_Gee, thanks, Dad._

At last Hiccup made it over to Gobber's forge, where the blacksmith was busy straightening a sword. He threw off his vest and put on a leather apron.

"How nice of you to join the party," Gobber remarked. "I thought you'd been carried off."

"Who me? I'm _way _too muscular for them. They wouldn't know what to do with all this," Hiccup said, flexing his skinny arms.

"Well, they need toothpicks for cleanin' in between their teeth, don't they?"

Hiccup grabbed the pile of weapons the vikings set on the counter and dropped them on the coals, pushing with all his weight on the bellows. As he glanced ou the window, he saw that once again the teens were doing fire patrol; Snotlout and Fishlegs filling their buckets and running away, Ruff and Tuff fighting, as usual, and... Astrid. Beautiful, as always.

_Their job is so much cooler, _Hiccup grumbled to himself. He leaned over the counter, almost falling off, when Gobber yanked him back inside.

"Aw, c'mon Gobber, let me out! I need to make my mark!"

"Yew've made plen'y of marks, all in the wrong places."

Hiccup gulped, suddenly remembering Spirit. _That was a_ _fluke_, he told himself._ He was from another world!_

"Two minutes," he pleaded. "I'll kill a dragon, my life will get infinitely better... I might even get a date."

"Lesse." Gobber began counting on his fingers. "Yew can't lift a hammer, yew can't swing an axe, yew can't even throw one of these," he said, picking up a bola, which was several metal balls attached by rope.

"Okay fine, but this..." Hiccup stepped back to uncover his latest invention. "This will throw it for me." He tapped it and it accidentally launched a bola, nearly hitting Gobber. _Oops._

"Now this here, is what I'm talking about!"

"It's- it's- mild calibration issue-"

"Hiccup. If you ever want to get out there to fight dragons, you need to stop being all... this."

"But... you just gestured to _all _of me!"

"Yes! That's it. Stop being all you!"

Hiccup rolled his eyes and decided to play along. "Ohhhh.." he murmured, trying to sound threatening.

"Ohhh, yes," Gobber mimicked.

"You, sir, are playing a dangerous game. Keeping all this... _raw-vikingness_ inside... _there will be consequences!"_

"I'll take my chances. Sword. Sharpened. Now." Gobber dropped the a sword into Hiccup's arms.

Hiccup grunted from the weight, but brought it over to the whetstone.

_One_ day, he thought. _I'll get out there. _In his mind, he scanned over the different types of dragons. _A Nadder head will at least get me noticed. Gronkles are tough. Taking down one of those will definitely get me a date. A Zippleback? Two heads, twice the status. Then there's the Monstrous Nightmare. _

_Only the best vikings go after those, _Hiccup thought, remembering how they could set their whole bodies on fire in the blink of an eye. _But the ultimate prize... the Night Fury. The dragon no one has ever seen. _

Hiccup dropped the sword to look out the window, where the cries of "Night Fury! Get down!" were already being heard. _This thing never steals food, never show itself... __never misses. No one has ever killed a Night Fury before. That's why I'll be the first._

"Man the ford, Hiccup," he heard Gobber say. "They need me out there." He fitted an axe to the arm missing a hand. Just before leaving he turned and said, "Stay." He glanced away then added, "Put. Uh.. there. You know what I mean," before charging out.

_Sure thing Gobber._

* * *

_I can't mess this up. I _have _to get one this time, _he thought, once more weaving in and out of the hordes of vikings.

At last he made it to a grassy hill, alone and silent. Without wasting a second, he opened up the contraption, pulling levers and moving switches. Silence.

"C'mon gimme something to shoot at, gimme something to shoot at."

He heard the far off roar of a dragon. His whole body tensed. The shriek grew louder and louder, then came the plasma blast. Only a Night Fury could do that. Hiccup aimed... and fired. He was thrown backwards, instantly scrambling up to see if it would hit the Night Fury. The shriek resounded through the night, and Hiccup saw something hurtling through the air, heading towards Raven's Point.

"I hit it," he whispered, astonished. "Yes! I hit it! Did anyone see that?"

Just then he heard a crunch and growl. Hiccup spun around. A Monstrous Nightmare was grinning wickedly at him. "Aw, _come on._.." he groaned.

* * *

The Night Fury zoomed through the air, eyes narrowing in concentration. There, that tower would do. Anything to keep the vikings buisy while the others got food for the Queen. It had been this way for as long as any dragon could remember, dragons versus vikings. He shot his plasma blast, then spread his wings, soaring upwards.

Suddenly something wrapped around his body. He roared as he was hurtled helplessly through the air, crashing into a tree, ploughing up the earth. Even in his semi-conscious state he felt the sickening rip of his tail fin, and realized all hope was lost.

* * *

The half-moon shone brightly over the dew-soaked grass, making each blade sparkle. The waterfall scattered moonbeams all over the pond, making it shine with a silvery glow.

_It's so beautiful,_ Spirit thought. _So peaceful, so still._

He took a mouthful of grass, chewing it contentedly. Then his ears flattened at a piercing roar. Before he could even open his mouth to scream in terror, something huge and black slammed into him. It was like someone turned off the moon. Blackness swallowed him whole.


	6. Chapter 6: A Night for a Fury

"Even so, I think they understand one thing - fear. Fear of pain, and fear of death."

~Arthur C. Clark, _The Most Dangerous Game~_

* * *

Hiccup fled, breath gasping in and out, yelling in terror. The Nightmare followed close behind, snapping ferociously and jumping on and off of the various low walls. Hiccup dove behind a pillar, feeling the hot flames curl around it. When they died, he slowly looked around, heart pounding in terror.

* * *

The Night Fury slowly became aware of the world. The ropes bit cruelly into his scales, only growing tighter as he fruitlessly struggled. He was going to die. No doubt some viking would come striding along, lift his sword, spear, or ax, and... the last of the Night Furies would be gone. He lifted his head and saw a golden horse lying not too far away from him. What was up with that? It didn't matter. He was going to die. He shivered in fear, laying his head back down and closing his eyes.

* * *

"Okay, but I hit a Night Fury."

Ruff couldn't help but snigger. No one had ever _seen, _much less _killed _a Night Fury. How could someone like _Hiccup _manage to pull off something like that? But as she watched Hiccup try to reason with his dad, the latter not even trying to listen, she felt a brief moment of pity.

_Ugh, _she thought_. What's gotten into me? Rain must be rubbing off on me._

After a few minutes of confusion, Ruff and Rain had found out they could talk to each other. Rain had introduced herself, and when Ruff had asked what happened to her, the mare replied that she lived with herd of horses. One stormy night she had suddenly found herself in the middle of a dragon raid. Her mate, Spirit, was there also, but they had gotten separated after both getting injured. Ruff and Rain had found a nearby cave where Rain could stay, and Ruff had visited her several times since.

_I wonder what happened to that stallion, _Ruff mused. She was jerked out of her thought by a punch from Tuffnut.

"Hey! You comin' or what?"

"Yeah, yeah," Ruff muttered.

* * *

Hiccup grimaced. "Sorry, Dad."

His father had come and rescued him... again. He watched in dismay as the top pf the pillar rolled away, freeing the captive dragons.

As Hiccup protested, Stoick once more grabbed him by the tunic, dragging Hiccup behind him a he strod though the crowd.

"It went down just off Raven's point. Let's get a search party out there and-"

"_Stop_! Just... stop." Stoick turned, looking so terrible that Hiccup was silent.

"Every time you step outside, disaster follows. Can you not see that I have bigger problems? Winter is almost here and I have an entire village to feed!"

"Well, between you and me, the village could do with a little less feeding," Hiccup muttered, half to himself.

"This isn't a joke!" Stoick groaned. "Why can't you follow the simplest orders?"

"I can't stop myself, Dad! I see a dragon, and I just have to... kill it, you know? It's who I am," Hiccup said, but what he meant was, _I just want to be accepted. I just __want you to be proud of me._

"You are many things, Hiccup. But a dragon killer is not one of them. Get back the house." Stoick turned to Gobber. "Make sure he gets there. I have his mess to clean up."

Hiccuo could feel the sting of contempt in the words and sagged. Gobber pushed him towards the house. The teens were no help. Astrid and Fishlegs were silent, but he could hear the twins' laughter. Snotlout was no better.

"I've never seen anyone mess up that badly. That helped, fishbone!" he taunted.

"Thank you, thank you, I was trying."

They made it to the house.

"He never listens," Hiccup quietly groaned.

"It runs in the family," Gobber replied.

"And when he does.. it's always with this... disappointed scowl, like someone skimped on the meat in his sandwich. 'Excuse me barmaid'," Hiccup said, imitating Stoick, " 'I'm afraid you brought me the wrong offspring! I ordered an extra large boy with beefy arms, extra guts and glory on the side. This here... this is a talking _fishbone!" _Hiccup borrowed Snotlout's new nickname for him.

"Now, ye're getting this all wrong. It's not so much wot yew look like... it's wot's _inside _he can't stand."

Hiccup stared. "Well that makes me feel so much better," he grumbled and turned to step inside.

"Look, the point is, stop trying so hard to be something ye're not."

"I just want to be one of you guys," Hiccup muttered, and dissapeared inside. He paused for a moment, them ran out the back door. _I'll sh__ow them!_

* * *

As the dawn glowed pale on the horizon, someone in a black cloak silently slipped away. They smiled to themself. By now the young viking, what was his name? oh yes, _Hiccup, _would be safely resting in the Nightmare's belly. Their work here was done.

* * *

Hiccup squeezed his eyes shut, then opened them, searching for any sign of the dragon. Nothing.

Hiccup groaned in dispair. "Everything is going wrong today," he complained. "Where some people lose their knife or fork, I manage to lose an entire dragon."

He angerly swatted at a branch, only to have it hit him in the face.

"Ow!"

He glared at the tree, then stopped and stared. A huge section of it had broken off, followed by a long rut leading towards the cove. Hiccup followed the rut, cautiously peered around a boulder into the cove. Then he gasped.

A large, black dragon lay tangled in rope. Hiccup quickly felt around until he found a small knife. It would have to do. Holding it out in front of him, Hiccup slowly advanced towards the dragon.

"Oh wow," he gasped. "I did it. I actually did it. This- this fixes _everything!" _Hiccup put his foot on it, declairing proudly, "I have brought down this mighty beast- ahhh!"

Hiccup jerked away as the dragon growled. As he came forward again, the dragon opened its eyes to look at him, pleading. _Please,_ it seemed to say. _I don't want to die._

Hiccup began to doubt he could actually do this. "I'm going to kill you, dragon," he snarled. "I'm- I'm gunna cut out your heart and take it to my father. I am a Viking. _I am a Viking!"_

_Please... don't._

Hiccup raised his knife. The dragon dropped its head, closing his eyes in defeat. Shame flooded through the Viking.

"I can't kill you," he whispered.

* * *

The Night Fury's eyes snapped open at a sawing sound. Instead of killing him, the boy was cutting him free! As soon as the ropes slackened, the dragon leapt up, pinning the boy against a nearby rock. The Night Fury felt him squirm like a captured fish, but he didn't let go, just stared into the young viking's eyes.

_Why didn't you kill me? _he asked._ Why are you different?_

Finaly he realised his hold, letting forth an ear-splitting roar. The horse behind him jumped to its feet, falling down again as the Night Fury clumsily flew to the other side of the cove, as far away as possible._  
_

* * *

Spirit had been jerked awake to see Hiccup sitting against a rock. Was that a _dragon_ on the other side of the cove?

He trotted up to Hiccup, and demanded, _What happened?_

Hiccup grabbed a handful of Spirit's mane and pulled himself up. "Oh gosh," he whispered, then collapsed.

_Great._

* * *

**A/N: Finaly... *gasp* done!**

**Any guesses on who the mysterious person is and why they want Hiccup dead? (Whoever guesses right will get a virtual cookie of awesomness.)**

**Shout-outs-**

**ViolentHappyChick: It was nice talking to you, and I'm glad I made you laugh.**


	7. Chapter 7: Secrets of the Dragons

"Don't you fall now-  
For I'se still goin', honey,  
And life for me ain't been no crystal stair."

~Langston Huges, _Mother to Son~_

* * *

Spirit grabbed a mouthful of Hiccup's fur vest, almost choking at the taste. He began walking backwards, pulling Hiccup out of the cove. The dragon hadn't moved from its place on the other side of the pond, but Spirit didn't want to take any chances. He bumped into a rock and almost squealed with fright, then realized it was only a rock. _I'm so spooky today,_ he thought, a little irritably.

At last he found a gap between the stone walls of the cove and squeezed through, dragging Hiccup behind him. Once out he softly blew into Hiccup's face until he groaned quietly, pushing away Spirit's muzzle.

"Oh gosh," he muttered, sitting up. "That was the scariest thing that's ever happened to me. That dragon just about deafened me."

_What happened back there?_ Spirit demanded. _What happened?_

"My 'invention' finally worked," Hiccup whispered, looking away. "But it didn't matter. I couldn't kill the dragon."

_So you set it free_... Spirit was beginning to put together the pieces.

Hiccup nodded. "It jumped up and pinned me against a rock. Then it simply stared at me, like it was asking why I didn't kill it. And then it took its paw of me, gave an ear-splitting roar, and flew away." Hiccup looked at Spirit. "We better get back soon."

_We? Are we going to see your village?_ Spirit felt curious, as the only time he had seen this village was during a dragon raid.

"Uh... sure," Hiccup shrugged. "Not much to look at, especially since we had a dragon raid last night. Really old, but lots and lots of new buildings."

_Must be a lot of work_, Spirit said as they began walking.

"Believe me, it is," Hiccup replied. "Most of the time I'm the one stuck with cleaning it up while all the other teens are off having contests on who can throw a spear the farthest, or whatever they do." He snorted, but Spirit could sense the loneliness beneath the words.

* * *

It was late in the afternoon when Gobber released Hiccup from clean-up duty. He climbed up the stairs, feeling weariness tugging at every bone in his body, when he froze at the sound of his father's voice.

"Hiccup."

Hiccup slowly turned to around to see Stoick standing near the fireplace. "I've been meaning to talk to you."

"I... uh... have to talk to you too, Dad." Hiccup had no idea how to explain how he couldn't kill dragons, but he had to try. He took a deep breath and began, just as his father did too, their words tumbling over each other.

"I think I it's time to don't want to you learned to fight - to fight dragons."

"What?" they both asked.

"You go first," Stoick said.

"Uh, no, no, you can!" Hiccup stuttered nervously.

Stoick paused for a second, then looked hard at him. "Alright. You get your wish. Dragon training. First thing in the morning."

Hiccup's heart dropped._Oh no. _"Oh man. I should have gone first." The words flew out of his mouth, tripping over each other in his haste to get them out. " 'Cause I was thinking, we sure have a surplus of dragon-fighting vikings, but do we have enough _bread-making_ vikings? Or small-home-repair vikings?" he asked weakly, grasping for anything that might change his dad's mind.

His father didn't seem to hear him. "You'll need this," he said, pulling out a small ax and dropping it into Hiccup's arms, making him stagger.

Hiccup decided to be more blunt. "I don't want to fight dragons," he protested.

"Oh come on. Yes you do!" Stoick brushed it off.

_Okay, let me rephrase that._ "Dad. _I can't kill dragons!_"

"But you will kill dragons."

Hiccup wondered if Stoick was even hearing him, if there was any point in continuing on. "No, I'm really extra sure I can't."

"It's time, Hiccup."

"Can you even hear me?!"

"This is serious, son! When you carry this ax, it means you carry all of us."

_What if I don't want to?_

Stoick continued, "Which means you walk like us, you talk like us, you think like us. No more all... this."

"You just gestured to all of me." _Once again..._

"Deal?"

"This conversation is feeling very one sided." _Almost like I'm talking to a wall._

"_Deal_?" Stoick growled.

Hiccup sighed heavily. "Deal..."

Stoick turned and grabbed a bag. Slinging it over his shoulder, he started to head out the door. "Good. My men and I are going to search for the nest. I'll be back in a month or so... maybe."

"And I'll be here... probably." _One day, I'll get out of this dump. Someday._

* * *

_Where's Hiccup? _Spirit thought, trotting back and forth near the edge of the woods. Then sun was already high in the sky. _He's usually here by now. Hmph. _Then a thought stuck him. _Rain! I need to find her. She's here somewhere... I just need to find her! _

With that he galloped deep into the woods, heart thrumming with anticipation. Soon he might find her; his love, his _Rain!_

* * *

The first day of dragon training. No turning back. As Hiccup walked into the ring, a circular stone arena with a roof of metal bars and grated metal gate, he muttered to himself, "Pain. Love it!"

"Oh great. Who let _him_ in here?" Tuffnut snorted.

_I have a name, you know._

"Let's get started!" Hiccup heard Gobber's voice from the edge of the arena, and saw the blacksmith walking over to them. "The recruite who does win the honor of killing his first dragon in front of the entire village."

"Um, Hiccup already killed a Night Fury, so does that disqualify him?" Snotlout cracked, making Ruffnut burst out laughing. Astrid rolled her eyes at them, and Fishlegs seemed to be whispering something to himself, his face full of concentration.

"Don't worry," Gobber whispered to Hiccup. "You're small and weak, that'll make you less of a target. The dragons will see you as sick, or insane, and go after the more viking-like teens instead."

_Isn't it the other way around? _Hiccup thought, walking up to the other teens and standing beside Fishlegs, a rather hefty boy with short blond hair.

"Behind these doors," Gobber announced, pointing to several wooden gates located on the stone walls, "are just some of the many species you will learn to fight. The Deadly Nadder-"

"Speed 8, armour 16," Fishlegs whispered.

"The Hideous Zippleback-"

"Plus 11 stealth, times 2."

"The Monsterous Nightmare-"

"Firepower 15."

"The Terrible Terror-"

"Attack 8, venom 12!" Fishlegs yelled triumphantly.

"_Would you stop that_!" Gobber glared at Fishlegs, then placed his hand a bar that would open the gate. "And, the Gronckle."

"Jaw strength 12," Fishlegs whispered to Hiccup.

"Woah, whoah! Aren't you going to teach us first?" Snotlout burst out.

Gobber pushed down the bar, relasing the Gronkle, who flew out, snarling. The teens scattered. "I believe in learning on the job. Today is all about survival. If you get blasted, you're_ dead. _What's the first thing you're going to need?"_  
_

"A doctor?" Hiccup gasped.

"Plus five speed?"

Astrid gripped her ax. "A shield!" she shouted.

"Sheilds. Go!"

The teens ran over to the far side of the ring, where several sheilds were located.

"You're most important peice of equipment is your sheild," Gobber continued. "If you must choose between a sword and or a sheild, take the sheild.

* * *

Ruff ran over and grabbed a sheild, just as her brother did too.

"Leggo of my sheild!"

"There are like a million sheilds," Tuffnut argued. "Take that one, it has a flower on it. Girls like flowers."

_You wouldn't... _Ruffnut jerked it out of his hands and wacked him on the head. "Oops," she sneered. "Now this one has blood on it."

Tuff tried to take it back, but just then the Gronckle let forth a shot of fire, them both flying.

* * *

"Ruff, Tuff, you're out!"

Out of the corner of his eye, Hiccup saw the twins stumbling out of the areana.

"Shields are good for another thing - noise, and lots of it!"

Make lots of it to throw off a dragon's aim."

Hiccup, Snotlout, Fishlegs, and Astrid began banging on their shields with their various weapons. The Gronckle shook its head in confusion.

"Every dragon has a limited number of shots. How many does a dragon have?"

"Uh, five?" Snotlout guessed.

"No, six!" Fishlegs yelled, obviously proud of his dragon knowledge.

"Right, six. That's one for each of you!" Gobber chuckled, leaning against the wall of the pit.

Fishlegs glowed with pride... until the Gronckle blasted his shield to bits.

"Fishlegs, out!"

Hiccup cautiously began backing away, then dove behind a piece of wood propped up against a wall as the Gronckle turned it's attention to him.

"Hiccup, get in there!"

"I just moved into my parent's basement," he heard Snotlout say to Astrid as he cautiously looked out. "You should come by sometime to work out. You look like you work- ahh!"

Hiccup straightened as Astrid somersaulted over. "So, I guess it's just you and me?" he asked weakly.

"Nope, just you," Astrid replied, not taking her eyes of the Gronckle. She sprinted away as the Gronckle spat out fire at Hiccup. His sheild flew out of his hand and he chased after it as it rolled across the arena.

Hiccup turned to see the Gronckle right behind him. Before he could move, it had shoved him against the wall. Hiccup closed his eyes as it opened its mouth, heard the gases building. Suddenly he felt the weight relased from his chest. Without even thinking, he ducked down putting his hands over his head, hearing the explosion of rock above him. He looked up and watched numbly as Gobber grabbed it in the mouth with his hook, swinging it back into its cage.

"Remember," Gobber said seriously, helping Hiccup up. "A dragon will always, _always_ go for the kill."

Hiccup's thoughts turned to the Night Fury. _Then why didn't he?_

* * *

**A/N: ****Well, for the ****TWO *cough* people who reviewed, I've finished the outline, so updates should be pretty quick. :)**

**Shout outs-**

**Guest: Thank you sooooo much for your very nice review! It made me SO happy to know how much you like this! *Hugs***

**Guest (from my school): Yes, Spirit will find Rain... eventually. And yes, there will by more Hiccup and Ruffnut. I can't promise it will be... um... romantic. Sorry, but I've NEVER done shipping before.**

**And since the next chapter will contian "something" very significant, I pose a question. What is up with the portal that Spirit has come through. Why do they happen? Please tell me what you predict, and you will make me very happy!**


	8. Chapter 8: Forgotten Memories

"But he could remember nothing."

~Ronald Dahl, _Beware the__ Dog~_

* * *

Spirit was discouraged. He had searched all day, and found nothing. Neither hid nor hair of his beloved Rain. It was like... it was like she fell of the face of the earth. Fell... through a portal.

_No. Oh, please, no! _The last thing Spirit needed was for Rain to be in a different _world._ No, that couldn't happen. It _couldn't!_ Spirit narrowed his eyes, and pawed the ground. Then he trotted froward, pushing thorough a small grove of pines. The air whistled through their branches, biting at his skin.

He almost ran into Hiccup as he came into a clearing, and had to slide to a rather abrupt stop. Hiccup didn't even seem to notice the stallion, just kept muttering over and over to himself. "Why didn't you? Why didn't you?"

_Uh, Hiccup?_

The viking's head jerked up, and he looked startled. _Hey there, Spirit,_ he greeted, and gave a half-hearted smile. Then he sighed and his whole body seemed to droop. _Could I have a ride to the cove? Might as well pick up those peices of rope and metal._

Spirit felt his heart go out to him, and knelt down. _Sure_, he agreed sympathetically.

As they began walking, Spirit asked where he had been all day.

Hiccup absentmindedly stroked Spirit's neck, and scratched under his mane, making the mustang grunt with pleasure. _Dragon training_, he finally said. _I'm learning how to kill dragons._

Spirit turned his head a little and looked at Hiccup in surprise. _But... I thought you didn't want to kill dragons._

_I don't! I... don't. It's just, my dad decided that it was time for me to kill dragons, just as I changed my mind too._

Spirit couldn't help but snort a little from the irony, but tried to keep quiet for Hiccup's sake.

* * *

The real reason Hiccup had wanted to come to the cove was because he hoped to see the dragon agian. He wanted to find more about this elusive dragon.

He held on as Spirit moved into a gentle canter. He slid off as they neared the cove, then stepped through a break in the wall to see he was high above the ground, able to see the whole cove in a glance. Pond. Waterfall. Tree roots, moss, stones. No dragon.

"Well this was stupid," he muttered. Hiccup was just about to turn around and walk back out when he saw several black scales. He slid down and picked one up, studying it. Just then the huge black dragon burst into veiw, paws scrabbling on the rocks. It lost its grip and fell back, gliding over the pond, wings flapping uselessly.

Hiccup gasped, both with surprise, and with delight. Spirit however, was not as excited.

_Hiccup, what are you doing? _the stallion asked nervously, as Hiccup pulled out his journal.

Hiccup ignored him. He hopped down to a lower ledge and peered over the edge.

_Do NOT tell me you're going in there! _

He watched, fascinated, as the dragon tried again and again to fly out, each time crashing to the ground. Hiccup grabbed a piece of charcoal and began hastily sketching.

_Can you even hear me?_ Spirit asked, sounding hurt.

Hiccup finished his drawing and beckoned to Spirit. "Come on," he said gently. "Commere."

Spirit snorted, but stepped down onto the ledge.

_Why doesn't he just leave?_

Hiccup looked down at his drawing again, then slowly rubbed out half of the tail fin.

_He's trapped... just like me._

* * *

Lightning flashed, ripping through the storm clouds, and splitting the sky in half. Then the boom of thunder, sometimes low and rumbling, sometimes booming like... cars. Rain. Pouring down in sheets, soaking everything.

Spirit shivered and huddled under a tree. He was soaked, cold, and a little freaked out. He thought he could hear the growling of the dragon, and shuddered. Just then a slow, gutteral rumbling. Spirit whipped around and at a flash of lighting saw the towering hulk of Mor'du, eyes gleaming coldly.

_No, _Spirit whispered. _You're dead. I- I watched you die! _Mor'du vanished.

Spirit looked up to see what must have been hundreds, if not thousands, of dragons flying above him. It was an awesome sight. However, they had looks of terror upon their faces and were flying as if fleeing from something. Spirit looked behind them and his eyes widened at a enormous dragon chasing them. It had six eyes, bat-like wings, and looked about the size of a rather small volcano. It opened its mouth and let out an explosion of flames. Spirit closed his eyes against the blinding flash and searing "whoosh" of heat.

He opened them to see a gleam of a car lurking in the shadows. The terrified scream of Greybar, as the monster crashed into his body, echoed through his mind.

_Why have you come back to haunt me?! Leave me alone! Stop it! _Spirit backed up, only to feel his back legs scrape against metal. He turned around, eyes rimmed with white, ears pinned back against his head, heart pounding with utter and absolute terror. Why had he come to this world? He closed his eyes, thinking of the three times he had fallen through portals. Random. Unforgiving. Forgotten. Forgotten... _memories_.

* * *

It was a stormy night, somewhat like this one, but the strangest Spirit had ever seen. Lighting flashed almost as soon as the last died away. Spirit knew he would have to get his herd to the safety of a cave, before things got even worse. They had just found one when Spirit realized one of the yearlings was missing. There was nothing to do but go back out and search for it. By now the lighting was striking constantly, the sky filled with an unnatural glow.

He found the young colt cowering under a tree, shaking like leaf in the howling winds.

_Come on! _Spirit neighed to him. _We have to get out of__here!_

Pushing the colt in front of him, Spirit headed back towards the cave. _Just keep going. Don't look back._

They had almost made it when the sky erupted with a purplish-blue brilliance. Pain flooded through Spirit's body, and he collapsed on the ground, jerking and spasoming. Lights winked on and off behind his closed lids, and he felt his muscles being jerked, squeezed, pushed and pulled.

And through it all... a portal. Greybar. Oh no... _Greybar!_ In his mind's eye, Spirit watched as the grey stallion stood knee-deep in grass, watching the lighting from afar, when a hole opened up filled with green light. The stallion's eyes widened with panic as he fell in... never to be seen again.

How long Spirit lay there he did know... minutes, hours? It seemed Time had disappeared.

* * *

Spirit jerked out of his memories, unable to take it anymore. So it was all his fault. Greybar's death, Rain's injury... all his fault. _He _was the one who created the portals. He was a freak, an abnormality, a _monster._

_I'm sorry, Greybar! _he cried out, as if the stallion could hear him._ I'm so sorry, Rain!_

Spirit sank to his knees in the mud, tears mixing with the pouring rain, tricking down his face and dripping off his chin.

_I'm sorry. I'm so, so sorry... I'm sorry._

He felt as if his heart was being ripped apart, piece by piece. _I can't take this anymore!_

Spirit got up and ran. He didn't care where he went, he only wished he could outrun his troubles, but the followed him closely, clinging to him like a shadow. He began to shake; from cold, from fear, from regret.

Finally he stumbled, falling headlong into the mud. _I'm sorry._

_Spirit?! What happened to you?_

Spirit felt a hand on his neck. He opened bleary eyes to see Hiccup standing above him with a lantern, his face full of concern.

_You're shaking really bad. Follow me. _

Feeling numb all over, Spirit shakelly rose to his feet and followed Hiccup. They walked up to a wood stucture of some sort. Spirit felt like he barely had the strength to shake off the excess mud and water before stepping inside.

It was rather small, but warm and cozy inside. Just feeling the heat of the fire made Spirit feel a little better. At Hiccup's approval, he knelt down on something warm and soft spread over the floor, feeling exhaustion sweep over him. Hiccup dissapeared up some steps, returning with a two blankets. The first, which was more coarse, he used to dry himself and Spirit off with. The second which was very soft, he draped over Spirit.

_Thank you,_ Spirit whispered.

Hiccup shrugged. "No problem."

They both were silent for a moment, then Spirit said softly, _I suppose you want to know what was going on... back there. _

_It's okay if you don't want to tell me._

_I feel like my mind will explode if I don't tell someone, because I'm so... scared. And confused. I don't even know where to start! _

_Start at the beginning._

So Spirit did, telling him of all his adventures in the land of Cars, in Scotland, and what had happened to Rain.

Hiccup quietly said, _You've sure been through a lot... that Merida girl sounds especially interesting. And... cars! You freak me out just talking about them! Poor Rain... no wonder you were so mad at me. But I think I see a connection between all._

_What is it?_

_Well, every time you've created a portal, you've been pretty shaken up. When you first got hit, when your herd got attacked by wolves, when Greybar died, when YOu almost died..._

_Then why didn't I create one half an hour ago?_

_Perhaps you're getting more control over it. Perhaps you'll be able to control it completely, someday, _Hiccup mused.

* * *

**A rather angst-y chapter, mostly explanatory. Not much action (maybe for you, but not for me. Bleh). I'm going to really try and add some more in the next chapter. And there will be plently in later chapters. Stay tuned for Chapter 9: Motive, Desire, and Goals. We shall also find out who the mysterious person is! Heh heh heh. **


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